Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cookie Butter Frosting

 Perfectly dense and moist chocolate cupcakes packed with zucchini and topped with insanely addictive cookie butter frosting!

I’m back! Sorry for the month-long hiatus, things got cu-raa-zy. New job, drastic new commute, fun new obligations, super-fun new sickness. Yeaaaaaah. I had a slow buildup of a cold for about a week and then I woke up one morning and BAM – full fledged flu. So, I’ve been a pathetic ball of mucus for a bit and who wants baked goods covered in germs? Not I, and (I would assume) not you, either!

I figured a good reintroduction to the real world would be cupcakes full of veggies – well, a veggie: Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes! I feel like I’m forgetting something… oh right, the frosting. Cookie Butter frosting. OH YEAH.

You see that? That’s no ordinary buttercream frosting. That right there is cookie butter buttercream frosting. Creamy, sweet and with a hint of that signature cookie butter gingerbread-ish flavor.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this post about the Biscoff gift pack that I received. First of all, that was AWESOME. Second of all, The Biscoff  Cookie & Spread cookbook is full of all sorts of stuff that makes me drool all over its pretty, pretty pages. I found a recipe for this frosting in the book and I was inspired to find the perfect pairing on which to pipe that gorgeous frosting.

I wanted the recipe to be vegan-friendly because lots of people have requested more vegan recipes, and I want to give the people what they want! I bet you didn’t realize that Biscoff Cookie Butter was vegan, did ya? And so are the cookies themselves! So, that basically gives you the right to put those cookies all over everything – and that’s exactly what I did.

Crumbled on top…

Whole cookies shoved into the frosting…

…yeah. I make good decisions. You should make as equally good a decision and make these immediately.

Here’s a tip: Squeeze the excess liquid out of the shredded zucchini, but save it until you’ve put the cupcakes in the oven. Why, you ask? Because if you find that your batter is too dry, you can add it back in, a little at a time. No additional ingredients needed!

Show me how much you love cookie butter by tagging #stressbaking on Instagram!

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cookie Butter Frosting

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• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 10-12 cupcakes
• Category: Dessert

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Description

Perfectly dense and moist chocolate cupcakes packed with zucchini and topped with insanely addictive cookie butter frosting!

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Ingredients

Cupcakes:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 2 egg (or 1/2 cup applesauce)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/3 cup plain non-fat yogurt (or vegan yogurt)
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded zucchini, squeeze out any excess liquid

Frosting (adapted from The Biscoff Cookie & Spread cookbook):

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Biscoff Creamy Cookie Butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• Coconut milk to thin it out, as needed
• Crushed Biscoff cookies, for garnish

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Instructions

Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin tin with 10-12 baking cups (and spray the inside of the cups with cooking spray for good measure). Set aside.
2. Shred zucchini and place in a colander lined with cheesecloth or paper towels over a bowl to catch the liquid. Gently press the zucchini to squeeze out excess moisture. Don’t toss the leftover liquid just yet!
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a separate large bowl, beat together the sugar, applesauce and oil until completely combined.
5. Add yogurt, milk, and vanilla and beat until just combined.
6. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and beat until just combined.
7. Add shredded zucchini and stir to combine. If you’re batter feels too dry, add some of the leftover zucchini liquid (a little at a time) and stir to combine.
8. Pour batter into prepared cupcake liners until they are about 3/4 full (a little less if you want to stretch the batter to 12 cupcakes).
9. Place the cupcakes on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean).
10. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for a couple minutes before removing them and cooling completely on a wire rack.

Frosting:

1. Beat butter and cookie butter on high speed until combined and smooth.
2. Add powdered sugar, a little at a time, and beat on high speed until light and fluffy.
3. If the frosting is too thick, add milk a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
4. Frost cupcakes and top with crushed Biscoff cookies. Enjoy!

Notes

Easily made vegan by using applesauce in place of eggs and vegan yogurt in the cupcakes. For the frosting, simply substitute butter for Earth Balance!

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